


boyfriends

by slnkingboat



Category: Rise (TV 2018)
Genre: Family, Fluff, M/M, lots and lots of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-16
Updated: 2018-05-16
Packaged: 2019-05-07 15:39:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14674179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slnkingboat/pseuds/slnkingboat
Summary: jeremy finally gets his study date (they do a lot more than studying)





	boyfriends

**Author's Note:**

> hi! I didn't have time to properly edit this, so sorry if it's a little rough

Jeremy could easily divide his life into two sections: the time before he started dating Simon, and the time after he started dating Simon.  Or at least, the time after whatever it was that he was doing with Simon.

He could do so because his life was almost unrecognizable after Simon finally let him in.  He never even fathomed that he could be this happy. All those times he had made fun of his friends for how stupid they sounded when they were in relationships; he took it all back now.  Because he had become the stupidest of them all. Jeremy Travers had turned into a lovestruck idiot, and hiding it had become very, very difficult.

It truly wasn’t his fault.  At least, that’s what he told himself.  It wasn’t his fault that Simon radiated perfection.  It wasn’t his fault that every time Simon laughed it sounded like the heavens opened up and a thousand angels came down to Earth.  It wasn’t his fault that Simon was the human embodiment of the sun.

Yeah, Jeremy was pretty far gone.

And while Simon was happy, too, he still wasn’t comfortable with going public.  So Jeremy had to put a lid on it until they were alone. 

“Hey, stranger,” said Jeremy, leaning against the lockers to look at Simon.  The other boy was stacking textbooks and fixing his hair in the mirror of his locker.

He stopped for a second to look at who it was.  When his eyes met Jeremy’s, Jeremy saw his lips curl upwards and his eyes light up quickly before he tried to hide it.  “Hey,” he replied.

Jeremy didn’t mind that Simon was trying so hard to play it cool.  Because Jeremy knew how he really felt, and that alone was enough to make him feel warm and fuzzy inside.  “So,” Jeremy began, “I was thinking.”

“About what?”

“We never got our study date.”

Simon looked at him.  “Jeremy, it was never supposed to be a  _ date _ \- ”

“It was studying at eight on a Saturday evening.  What did you think it was?”

Simon hung his head briefly, smiling.  “Fair point,” he mumbled.

Jeremy grinned and crossed his arms, watching Simon lift his head again and shove his textbooks into his backpack.  He gently closed his locker and turned to face Jeremy. “So tomorrow at eight?”

Jeremy shook his head and resisted the urge to push Simon’s hair out of his eyes.  “I’m not waiting that long. Come over tonight. Preferably sooner than eight.”

Simon just laughed and nodded.  “Ok. See you then.”

He started to walk away, but Jeremy called, “Oh, and Simon?”

“Yeah?”

Jeremy couldn’t help the stupid grin on his face.  “Don’t blow me off this time.”

Simon just rolled his eyes at him teasingly and disappeared around the corner.  Jeremy stood there, smiling to himself for a moment. He was positive he was the luckiest guy in the world.

“Hey, Mom, Simon’s coming over tonight, is that okay?”

His mom looked up from the dishwasher.  “Is this  _ the  _ Simon?  The one you haven’t stopped telling me about?”

Jeremy felt his face go red.  Okay, so maybe he had issues containing himself.  He’d always been a very open person, though, what could he say?  “Yeah,” he replied.

“Did you say Simon was coming over?”

Jeremy looked at the door to see his older brother leaning against the doorframe.  He had earbuds dangling out of one ear and a pizza sauce stain on his t-shirt. 

“Yes, he is, and I’d really appreciate if you all would leave us alone, please,” Jeremy said.  He suddenly felt very exposed and overwhelmed. Maybe having Simon over so early in their relationship wasn’t the best idea after all.

“You got it, bro,” said his brother.  He shoved his other earbud in his ear and turned around.  As he left the room, he shouted, “Use protection!”

“Owen!”

He slammed his bedroom door shut and was gone.

Jeremy’s mom rolled her eyes and went back to drying dishes.  “He’s out of control,” she said with a smile.

“So it’s okay, then?”

She raised her eyebrows but kept her gaze down.  “As long as you keep the door open.”

“Mom - ”

“That’s all I ask, Jeremy.”

He sighed.  “Fine.” Hopefully no one would walk by.  Besides, it was better than nothing. It was better than waiting until everyone left the greenroom to steal kisses.  It was better than having to stay late after rehearsals just to be able to hold hands without anyone watching.

And then there was a sharp knock on the door.  Jeremy jumped, and his mom laughed. “Are you going to be okay, hon?” she asked.

Jeremy felt his face turning red again.  “I’m fine,” he mumbled. He rushed to the front door and opened it, feeling a wave of affection flood over him the second he saw the boy on the other side.  He had his coat buttoned up tight and a wooly red scarf wrapped tightly around his neck (it was freezing outside). He looked adorable.

“Hi,” said Simon, somewhat breathlessly.

“Hi,” replied Jeremy.  He just stood there, taking Simon in for a minute.  Then he cleared his throat, realizing how cold it was.  “Um, do you want to come in?”

Simon smiled.  “Yeah.”

He stepped inside, and Jeremy closed the door behind him as he took off his scarf and coat.  Jeremy stepped forward to give him a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll take these for you,” he said, gently pulling Simon’s coat out of his arms.

The other boy smiled, his cheeks pink.  “Thanks.”

Jeremy hung the coat up next to his own on their coat rack and turned back to face Simon, who had slung his backpack over his shoulder and shoved his hands into his pockets.  “Come on,” Jeremy said. He held his hand out, and Simon took it. Jeremy softly intertwined his fingers with Simon’s and felt an automatic sense of relief and comfort. The world always seemed so much brighter when he was able to feel Simon at his side.  

Jeremy led him into the kitchen, where his mom was still doing the dishes.  “Mom, this is Simon,” he said.

She looked up and smiled at them.  “Hi, Simon, it’s great to meet you,” she said.

“It’s great to meet you, too, Mrs. Travers,” he replied.  Jeremy could hear the nervousness in his voice, and he gave his hand a quick squeeze.

“You can call me Stacy,” she said warmly.  Simon just smiled, and Jeremy could feel him ease up a little bit.

“We’ll be in my room,” he said.  He led Simon down the hallway and through the first door on the left to where his bedroom was.  Simon peered at the door across from his, which had a sign that read “Owen’s Room. Keep Out.”

“I didn’t know you had a little brother,” said Simon curiously.

Jeremy snorted.  “I don’t. He’s two years older than me.”

He watched in amusement as Simon’s face turned pink again.  “Oh, I just thought - the sign - ”

“That’s been there since he was a little kid,” laughed Jeremy.  “He just never bothered to take it down.”

“Oh.”

Jeremy let go of Simon’s hand and gently pushed the door so that it was open just a crack.  As long as it wasn’t completely shut, he wasn’t technically breaking any rules. Jeremy was a sucker for a good loophole.

Simon looked so out of place, standing in the middle of the room with his backpack still over his shoulder and his hands back in his pockets.  He was clearly uncomfortable, and Jeremy was eager to fix that. Jeremy stepped forward and removed Simon’s backpack from his back. He set it gently on the ground next to his bed and turned to look at Simon.  “Come here,” he murmured, stepping forward.

Simon fell into his arms without hesitation.  Jeremy felt the inevitable smile stretch across his face as he slowly rubbed Simon’s back and buried his face in his hair.  “How was your day?” he murmured into the side of Simon’s head.

“Good,” replied the other boy quietly.  “How was yours?”

Jeremy pulled away ever so slightly so that he could look into Simon’s beautiful brown eyes.  “It was good,” he said softly. 

Simon kept his arms around Jeremy’s neck and smiled.  “Good,” he said. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against Jeremy’s.  Jeremy’s eyes fell shut instinctively and he breathed out slowly, kissing back.

Simon pulled away, keeping his forehead pressed against Jeremy’s.  “We should get to studying,” he said.

Jeremy’s brow furrowed in confusion.  “Wait, you actually want to study?”

“What else did you think we were going to do?”

Jeremy kissed him in reply.  “This,” he murmured against Simon’s mouth.  He heard Simon’s breath hitch briefly.

Then, to Jeremy’s utter dismay, Simon let go of him and reached down to open his backpack.  He started pulling stuff out, and Jeremy just stood there in the middle of the room and pouted.  

Simon opened up his biology notebook and started making himself comfortable on the floor.  When he had everything situated, he looked up and laughed at the sad look on Jeremy’s face.  “You can’t pull that puppy-dog face with me, you dork,” he said, tugging on Jeremy’s pant leg.  “Come on, let’s get started.”

Jeremy reluctantly grabbed his textbook off his deck and flung himself onto his bed.  “I can’t believe I ended up with a boyfriend who actually  _ wants  _ to study on a Friday night,” he grumbled.

“Boyfriend?”

Jeremy could feel the sudden change in the atmosphere.  He sat up straight and looked down at Simon. The boy’s face was unreadable.  “Yes?” he said rather questionably.

“I…”  Simon’s voice drifted off.  “Could we maybe have that conversation another time?”

Jeremy frowned.  “If we’re not boyfriends, then what are we?” he asked.

Simon didn’t say anything.  Jeremy felt remorse instantly flooding him as soon as the words left his lips.  “Sorry,” he said hastily. “I didn’t mean to - yeah. We can have that conversation later.”

“Ok,” said Simon quietly.

They sat in awkward silence for a full minute.  Jeremy was silently kicking himself for saying something so stupid.  He wished he could go back in time and erase his mistake.

Simon broke the silence.  “What are the reactants of photosynthesis?”

“What?”

Simon threw a pencil at him and he ducked.  “You’re not supposed to answer the question with another question, you dummy,” he said with a smile.

Jeremy felt his body relax a little bit.  Things were going to be okay. Simon wasn’t mad at him.  “Uh...carbon dioxide?”

“And?”

“Hell, Simon, I don’t know.”

Simon just laughed.  “Well, you better figure it out.”

Jeremy found the pencil that had been thrown at him and threw it back, aiming at Simon’s head.  “That’s what you’re for.”

Simon moved just in time to avoid the flying projectile.  “So sweet,” he replied.

“Shut up.”

They settled into an easy pattern after that.  Simon eventually took his sweater off, leaving him in a tightly fitted t-shirt that caused Jeremy’s mind to drift to all kinds of places.  He laid on the floor and read off vocabulary terms for Jeremy to define. Jeremy laid on his bed, crossed his fingers over his chest, and stared up at the ceiling.  He spent most of the time shooting sarcastic answers to Simon, never actually giving him the right one. Anybody else would have surely strangled him for it, but Simon just kept laughing and correcting him.  And Jeremy never quizzed Simon. He knew that Simon already knew the answers.

Eventually the sun began to set and Jeremy sat up to turn his lamp on.  Simon yawned, stretching his arms over his head.

“Haven’t we studied enough?” Jeremy asked.

Simon looked at his watch and did a double take.  “Oh, wow, I didn’t realize how late it was.”

Jeremy glanced at his alarm clock.  “It’s only nine.”

“Yeah, but that’s - never mind.”

Jeremy just chuckled.  “So can we stop, then?”

“I guess,” Simon replied.  “But I’m still not sure you actually made any progress.”

Jeremy sat on the edge of his bed and held out his hands.  Simon sat up and let Jeremy pull him into his lap. He looped his arms around Jeremy’s neck.  “Does it really matter?” Jeremy asked, brushing Simon’s hair out of his eyes gently just like he had been dying to do that morning.

“Yes,” retorted Simon.

Jeremy just sighed and kissed Simon.  The other boy put both hands on either side of Jeremy’s face and started tangling his fingers in his hair.  It sent a wave of pleasure down Jeremy’s spine, and he tightened his grip around Simon’s waist. Their lips moved silently against each other.  Jeremy slowly let the rest of the world fade away.

They spent the next hour or so sitting on Jeremy’s bed, kissing and watching YouTube videos and kissing and telling each other about their families and kissing some more.  It was the most relaxed Jeremy had ever felt in his life.

Eventually it was ten o’clock and Simon’s head was resting on Jeremy’s shoulder.  Jeremy had his arm around him and was gently playing with his hair. Simon’s hand rested on Jeremy’s leg and his eyes were closed, and for a second, Jeremy really thought he had fallen asleep.

“Si?”

“Hmm?”

Jeremy fixed his gaze on the ground and swallowed nervously.  “Why don’t you want to be my boyfriend?”

He felt Simon tense up.  He moved his hand down to Simon’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze, trying to reassure him that they were in a safe space.

“It’s not that,” replied Simon quietly.  “It’s just - I don’t know.”

Jeremy waited patiently.  He knew that this was all still very overwhelming for Simon.  They sat in silence while Simon tried to find the right words to say.

“I guess it’s just the word ‘boyfriend’,” he said.  “It still feels wrong, you know? It still feels like a sin.”

“I promise it’s not,” whispered Jeremy.

“I believe you,” Simon whispered back.  “It’s just...it’s still hard for me. That’s all.”

Jeremy didn’t say anything.  He couldn’t relate; he wanted more than anything to be able to call Simon his boyfriend, and he couldn’t imagine not feeling that way.

“Jer?”

“Yeah?”

“I want to be your - your boyfriend.  I really do.”

Jeremy turned to look at him.  “We don’t have to do anything in public,” he said.  “We don’t have to tell anybody and we don’t have to advertise anything.  All I want is to know that you’re mine and nobody else’s. That’s all that matters to me.”

“That’s all I want, too,” replied Simon, his voice breaking just a little.

“Then that’s all there is to it.”

Simon leaned his forehead against Jeremy’s.  “Really?” he said, his voice just barely a whisper.

“Really.”

Simon closed his eyes and sighed, wrapping his arms around Jeremy.  “Then will you be my boyfriend?”

Jeremy smiled into Simon’s soft hair.  “Of course.”

Simon kissed him, and Jeremy tasted a thousand different words on Simon’s tongue.  He inhaled them all, losing himself in Simon’s mouth and in the feeling of letting his boyfriend know that it was going to be okay.

Later, after Jeremy had stood on his porch and kissed Simon goodbye, he sat at the kitchen table and smiled like an idiot, tracing the grain of the wood with his finger.

He heard soft footsteps and looked up to see his mother in the doorway.  He tried to wipe the stupid grin off his face, but it was no use.

“He’s a keeper,” said his mom with a knowing smile.

“Yeah, he is,” sighed Jeremy.  “He really is.”

“And Jeremy?”

“Yeah, Mom?”

“Next time I want the door all way open.  But nice try.”

Jeremy groaned and let his head fall on his arms on the table.  His mom just laughed. “Goodnight, sweetie.”

“Goodnight, Mom.”

He felt his phone buzz and lifted his head up to read the message.

_ Simon: goodnight, boyfriend ;) _

__ Jeremy was positive that nothing in the whole world could possibly wipe the smile off of his face.  Nothing. Absolutely nothing.


End file.
